Our politicians need to stand up to BP to keep them from trashing our planet

Charlie Riedel, File / AP PhotoIn this June 3, 2010, file photo, a brown pelican is seen on the beach at East Grand Terre Island along the Louisiana coast.

Dear Politicians,

It’s 9:45 p.m. Natural gas and oil shoot up the well, catching fire once they arrive at the rig’s platform. Flames uncouthly dance, hundreds of feet in the air. One hundred fifteen victims narrowly escape by lifeboat. Eleven people are dead.

We all know about the BP oil spill that took place in the Gulf during the April of 2010 — the oil spill that was named the “worst environmental disaster America has ever faced,” by President Obama. Yet not enough is being done to clean up the spill, and it is having an incredible impact on thousands of species in the Gulf, not to mention the people that depend on them to survive.

Stefanie Rienhardt

“On a normal day, there would be dozens of shrimp boats and fishing boats out there with big catches, but instead we had vacuum barge operations working to suction up the heavy oil that is now coating this important wildlife habitat. This spill is having a direct impact on our way of life,” Gov. Bobby Jindal of Louisiana says in a news release. Think of the thousands of species that could go extinct because of this spill. Think of all the people without jobs, who now struggle to feed their families. Now think of how BP is getting off easily, without a second thought at how massive a tragedy they’ve unleashed.

It is not right that BP gets to trash our planet. We live here too. It is OUR Earth as well. WE need to stand up to BP, let them know that we will not stand for their behavior. I wish to see the Earth cleaner and safer for everything inhabiting it. We need to band together in an effort to clean our Earth up and make BP pay for all of the damages.